A view of strategy, procurement, warships, navies, and world politics. please note its all my work - information may come from elsewhere, and certainly the pictures do, but the analysis is mine, so any flak about it; address it to me, any praise likewise.
I have no problem with defending by debate or being corrected when I am wrong. I hope to someday get some of the ideas published, so any feed back will be of great and most profound assistance.

Sunday, 1 September 2013

August 2013 Thoughts: Naval Diplomacy – from the Amerigo Vespucci to a Royal Yacht

In August of
this year the Amerigo Vespucci, one
of the Italian’s navy’s three sail training ships (the others being the Italia and the Palinuro[1]),
docked in South Quay near Canary Warf its purpose was multi-layered. The most
obvious reasons being a nice stop for the officer cadets and crew, a visit to
an allied major/capital city to strengthen ties, and in the name of those ties
to hosting a series of tours, dinners and talks. In broad terms it was exactly
what the Royal Yacht used to be used for by British governments, but trading on
Italian chic rather than the majesty of British royalty. This was the colourful
pageantry side of naval diplomacy at work (as was highlighted by the Captain as
its primary role), and it was good; the Italian navy pulling out all the stops
to accomplish the missions that are the bread and butter of these vessels, and
highlighting all the good the ship does, the Marina Militare does, and Italy
does & produces.

What is
Naval Diplomacy?

In one sentence its ‘diplomacy which is carried out
from the sea or upon the sea’; the trouble is that one sentence whilst
accurate, also covers so much but gives so little. For starters whilst it
encompasses that which is usually considered Maritime Diplomacy & the Law
of the Sea, i.e. what happens at sea, it in fact goes further as it also
includes the use of the sea as a medium to convey an effect on the land. Broadly
speaking naval diplomacy fits into four areas, which define not only how the
approach the type of vessel which is best:

Area

Explanation

Vessel

Presence/Deterrence

Presence is about making it
known that your nation has an interest in the events that are taking place it
that area; the larger the steak a nation has in the events the more
significant the presence required.

Deterrence is about
achieving a level of force present that will make any actions country to the
will of the nation deploying that force, either likely to take too high a
losses or be defeated entirely.

Presence is about
‘Gunboats’ but it can grow as it moves from a watching/waving the flag role
to a more forceful ‘no’ which will require ships of greater ‘potential’.

Furthermore larger ships
should have spaces aboard for conferences – after all holding talks to prevent
a conflict aboard a warship at sea, could not be on more neutral ground or in
a more secure space.

Relationships

When ships pass at sea they
acknowledge each other; even at the height of the Cold War the ships of the
rival alliances would still say interact. These contacts will often grow when
vessels find themselves working nearby each other- perhaps conducting
counter-piracy or some other similar mission. These interactions build
bridges which the pomp, formality, rigidity and posturing of land borders do
not – a fact which is sometimes ascribed to the simple truth that all sailors
risk more from the sea than enemy action.

Any ship will do, but
warships are usually better for interacting with other warships on an
‘equivalency’.

Alliances

These can vary from simple
accords to full treaty organisations; but whatever the form they require maintenance
like any relationship. They require exercises to keep allies familiar and up
to standard that operational co-operation/co-ordination is already practiced
so as to allow for smooth operation.

Again it’s a combination in
that a constant regional presence by a single vessel, with regular visits by
more powerful vessels for training.

Trade

A ship turning up and
hosting events can draw interest in the goods of the nation that sends it.
When the Royal Yacht motored into port, even without any royalty aboard, it
would host contract signing events, trade fares and lots of meet & greet
events. At the Amerigo Vespucci everything is done to make visits memorable,
the food, the drink and the ceremonies are all of the highest quality Italian
products.

For this status is
everything, a flagship such as an aircraft carrier, or a ship which has cache
because it’s special – i.e. a Royal Yacht or sail training ship, are best as
they will garner the most attention, interest and most importantly
attendance.

Despite the
fact that it can be fit into just four rough areas, Naval Diplomacy is one of
the most subtle forms of international relations as a single gesture can carry
multiple messages on different levels of analysis; which in turn have a
differing impact/weight depending upon the tool used to do it. A warship
hosting an event will have a different impact from an auxiliary, and again to a
geo-strategic/tactical or status ship; the latter group will always carry the
most weight although depending on which they are that can be read differently.
A status ship will usually be seen as a projection of power but with less
militaristic overtones – usually more friendly so is excellent for building
economic alliances, supporting trade and making ‘first contact’. Whereas a
geo-strategic/tactical vessel such as an aircraft carrier will always have the
visible ‘potential’ for military action, so whilst again it can be used to
support trade by hosting suitable events, it is excellent when used for
building strategic alliances and for highlighting intent for action. Smaller
ships are again capable of these things, but of course on a smaller scale; a
single helicopter popping around a country with some personnel in can highlight
presence, multiple helicopters makes that presence tangible – but also represents
the commitment of a large volume of resources.

How
Maritimes & International Law affect Naval Diplomacy

In the modern
world nothing exists in a complete vacuum from words and even the sea has some
rules & regulations; however the vast majority of international law has yet
to be written, and international maritime law is even more sparsely populated. This
is mainly due to the difficulty of having to get every nation to agree to it; even
the United Nations has only accomplished so much. The main laws that affect
naval diplomacy, and using naval forces for conventional deterrence are the
those which effect the Territorial Waters (TW), those which affect the
Contiguous Zone (CZ) and those affecting the Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ); all
but the first 12 nautical miles from the coast, the TW, are considered
International Waters under which access of vessels cannot be restricted accept
under circumstance of war.

EEZs cover the
area of water out to 200nautical miles from the coast, although it can also extend
further if the continental shelf is proved to be contiguous to a nation’s EEZ.
Within this area that nation has complete authority over all resources
contained in the sea or under it. Put like this it sounds simple, but most
countries EEZs are to a greater or lesser extent comprises or contested; the
current troubles in the South China Sea, the Cod Wars in the North Atlantic,
some of the current issues over Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands are about
nations wanting the resources (fish, fossil fuels, ores and all the rest) that
are under the sea around them. TW and
the CZ are where a nation can enforce civil laws as well as control resources;
TW as has been said are where freedom of the seas do not apply, and a ship
needs permission to enter. It was a figure fixed before the missile age, before
12 nautical miles was no longer a barrier to enemy attack and which was the
area visible from land by the naked eye so was therefore considered to be
‘practical’.

Monitoring and
exercising control over these areas requires more than just a cursory glance on
occasion; for starters the shear area they cover makes a constant presence
necessary. For example the UK has an EEZ of 6,805,586km2 (not
including Gibraltar or any Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus)[2]
compared to a Total Internal Area (basically the land + plus lakes) of just
242,900km2, or in simple terms the sea area which is the
responsibility of the British government is a little over 28x the size of the
land under its charge[3].
It is the responsibility of the government to monitor fishing & fish
stocks, study & preserve the ecology & bio-diversity, prevent piracy
and basically police the waters; furthermore considering the level of resources
contained within, protect it from avaricious neighbours. Presence is therefore
not only about supporting allies, but also key to protecting national
‘territory’ & interests.

What makes
the Sea special?

The sea is next
to impossible to construct anything on so it cannot be held in a conventional
sense the same way land can, even the mightiest warships can be driven from
their stations by fierce storms that can ravage oceans. The resources are very
difficult and expensive to get to and fish stocks are depleted. So there is a
reasonable case for why bother?

Well, for
starters whilst the resources are difficult & expensive to get at, they are
reachable, technology is improving every day and the market is such that the
profit from getting to them is more than worth it. Furthermore, whilst the sea may
make the internet look positively controllable in terms of a medium for flow of
information it also carries 70% of the world’s surface. Plus unlike the
internet which is restricted to data movement, the sea also allows for the
physical movement of goods and people between nations, i.e. trade. In fact,
more trade and goods go buy sea than any other method, principally because as a
sheer function cost & volume sea trade is worth it. Fish stocks are improving, as better
management is put in place; and whilst construction of a ‘border’ is not really
possible, and whilst it can be argued that countries don’t own the sea merely
act as it’s guardians.

It’s special
because whilst all the above and on the previous pages is true, the fact is the
sea is an international free for all; which is why ships of opposing nations
bump into each other and can’t ignore each other so have to behave in cordial
manner.

Summary

Naval diplomacy
is not just about the sea, although it’s the sea which gives it a lot of its capabilities;
at its heart naval diplomacy is about utilising the advantages of the sea for
strategic national gains, whether that is selling a nations goods or selling a
nation as an ally. However, like conventional deterrence it is something which
is best built on firm foundations rather than sand; a sufficiently supported
program of naval diplomacy can provide bountiful opportunities for the country
that wields it. Deploying a land force can be expensive, complicated and
binding, a ship just docking on it way past is just maximising the opportunity;
but to do it well the ships and embassies have to be prepared for it.

For example if
Nation 1 wishes to maximise the effect of one of it’s destroyers (chosen for
the example as it’s a large escort, but not a geo-strategic/tactical vessel or
a status vessel) visiting Nation 2 then the embassy of Nation 1 must have an up
to date a list of ministers/opposition, dignitaries, business people and
opinion formers ready to go so that invites can be issued – not just to locals
from Nation 2, but from other nations diplomatic corps and of course
representatives of Nation 1’s firms that have dealings in the area, turning
each ship visit into a must attend opportunity for great food, great
opportunity and great experience; all things navies as a tradition do well. The
result of such an evening will be closer relationships built between Nation 1’s
diplomatic corps & navy and all of the visiting persons, if handled right
this will not only provide what the 2012 Olympics provided the UK with (on a
smaller scale of course) – the general feeling that Nation 1 is really quite
good, but also provide contacts which lead to orders of Nation 1’s goods,
boosting Nation 1’s industry and providing employment at home[4].
Which is at the end of the day one of the core duties of government, keeping
the economy as strong as possible, it’s that and defending its citizens/realm
from attack.